Their mutual love for traveling and exchanging personalized gifts pushed this brother-sister duo to start The Messy Corner – a Mumbai-based online shopping portal about 5 years ago
The idea was simple, people love anything that is personalized. And there was a major gap/need for good personalized products in the market at an affordable price that one could easily buy. So, Aayush and his sister Aanchal thought why not bring the best to the table and make travel and gifting a unique experience for everyone.
The sibling duo started their venture in a small corner of their house. “It was a spare room and we took it for granted by always keeping things in a mess. Since it was a startup and bootstrapped, initially only two of us played all the roles. The effort and steps it takes to make a finished product is not a very pretty sight. Our mom used to keep shouting at us to clean the room and we tried to! But, it took minutes to become a mess again. So we decided to name the company The Messy Corner to signify the effort and mess it took to bring this product to you,” says Aanchal.
Since Aayush is five years elder to Aanchal, it has been like a typical ‘big brother-little sister’ kind of relationship. “He has always been protective of me, but at work, we both are equal. We keep our relation at home and are thorough professionals at work,” adds Aanchal.
But when siblings turn into business partners, disagreements are bound to happen, when asked, Aayush says, “Fortunately for us,we do not face frictions and disagreements because we both have clearly divided our work and departments. Also, while taking major work calls that require both are inputs, we make sure to explain our points well and not let any misunderstanding sweep in.”
Partners during the day and siblings by the night. That’s how the two sum up their relationship. The duo adds that since they both share similar thought processes and equal passion towards their work, it becomes really easy to understand each other and trust the actions.
Talking about their vision for their brand, Aayush says, “We want to make TMC a global brand. There should be a TMC product in every household and we wish to make our brand synonymous with personalized gifting.
TMC’s has a customer base of 1.5 lakh people. Ever since its inception, the company has seen a 100% growth and have successfully fulfilled over 2 lakh orders and sold over 4 lakh gift items through their portal.
The Messy Corner was founded in 2015, by Mumbai-based brother-sister due, Aayush and Aanchal Poddar. Their passion for travel and travel-related accessories drove them to start their own online venture for personalized travel products. The very first to hit the site in their line of products was their trendy passport covers, which went on to become a major hit among their ever-growing consumers.
After completing his MBA from Mumbai University, Aayush joined his family business of manufacturing technical textiles. With an aim to bring international exposure to the already-established business, he worked hard for 10 years before he branched out to explore his own entrepreneurial calling.
With a degree of Masters in Marketing from the University of Bath, UK, Aanchal possesses a strong passion for design and innovation.The Messy Corner has a range of 25 products with multiple variations. Some of their top-selling products are: Personalized leather passport covers, laptop sleeves, leather wallets. During the pandemic, they have also launched cotton masks, a UV Care sterilizer, and sanitizer cover under their personal safety gear collection.
They have also come up with exciting Raksha Bandhan gift hampers. Details are as follows :
Product name: The Rakhi Edit Personalized Gift Hamper
Price: INR 1,999
Where to buy: www.themessycorner.in
Consists: Women’s Wallet, Carry-all Pouch, and Keychain
Product name: Personalized Travel Gift Box
Price: INR 2,199
Where to buy: www.themessycorner.in
Consists: Men’s Wallet, Carry-all Pouch, and Keychain
Product name: Personalized Gift Hamper
Price: INR 1,599
Where to buy: www.themessycorner.in
Consists: Passport cover, Men’s Wallet
Please let me know if you would be needing anything else from my end.
